


Ricochet Romance

by reva_pocalypse



Category: Half Life VR But The AI Is Self Aware
Genre: Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, OSHA compliance, endless heckling, fic where everything is alright :), gordon has adhd, slowburn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-09
Updated: 2020-06-03
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:02:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,553
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24088573
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reva_pocalypse/pseuds/reva_pocalypse
Summary: It's Gordon Freeman's first day on the job, and he's running late. It would sure be a shame if someone started heckling him without provocation...
Relationships: Benrey/Gordon Freeman
Comments: 33
Kudos: 271





	1. Chapter 1

Gordon sighed a guttural sigh, practically falling into the door as it swung open under his weight.

"I'm here, I'm here, don't start without me!" he yelled to nobody in particular, stumbling around Black Mesa's locker room and holding back a yawn. For some goddamn reason, his alarm had completely failed to go off in the morning despite having triple-checked it the night before, and now he's running late to his dream job! What an awful first day.

"Ah, hello Gordon! Another day, another dollar, am I right?" A man in a lab coat stood at an open locker, beaming at Gordon.

"Oh, uh, hi there. You're one of my co-workers, right? Sorry I'm late, my ala—"

"Ah ah ah!" The man wagged his finger, cutting Gordon off. "Excuses have no place in a realm of science!"

"I... guess you have a point." Gordon chuckled, then held out his hand, which the man shook vigorously. "What's your name?"

"Dr. Coomer, at your service!"

"Awesome. I guess you already know my name. Did they tell you I was coming?"

"Something like that. They were pretty angry yesterday when you didn't show up."

"When I... what? Ah fuck, did I miss some sort of orientation?"

"You missed much more than just an orientation, Gordon!"

"What? What did I miss?"

"Right this way, Gordon!" Dr. Coomer didn't acknowledge Gordon's question, setting off into the twisting halls of Black Mesa without a second thought. "Your new life awaits you!"

"Oh, right, I'm late! Fuck, sorry to waste your time, man! I guess I'll ask somebody else what happened later..."

"Just follow me!"

The room that (according to Dr. Coomer) stored all of the HEV suits was overflowing with people, three lines trailing all the way out into the hallway.

"What a tragedy!" Dr. Coomer exclaimed. He didn't look too broken up about it, though.

"Yeah, this kinda sucks. But if we tell our boss that we have a legitimate reason to be late, she won't be too mad at us, right? At least, she won't be too mad at you, since you were actually here yesterday."

"I wouldn't deny the possibility, Gordon!"

"Sweet." A moment of silence. The line was barely moving, and Gordon was feeling too antsy to stand still in it for who knows how long.

"So uh. Should we get in line, or do you wanna—"

"I have my own duties to attend to. Goodbye!" He walked off without waiting for a response, suddenly leaving Gordon feeling very isolated in the hallway.

"Alllright then." After taking a minute to weigh his options, Gordon decided he'd rather play it safe and get in line to avoid getting in any more trouble, much as he would rather move around a bit and explore the halls of his new workplace. So he walked over to the end of one of the lines, and—

"dude." A security guard was standing by the line, staring him down.

"Oh, um, hello sir. Do you need anything from me?" Gordon felt a little bit flustered being apprehended by a guard. Had he done something wrong?

"i was saving that spot." He sounded... annoyed.

"Excuse me?"

"you can't stand there." No, not annoyed. Petulant was a better word.

"I thought this was the line for the HEV suits. Am I not supposed to be here, or..."

"yeah duh you're supposed to be here. where else would you even go. dumbass."

"I—hey! There's no need to be—"

"i told you to move."

Gordon shot a quizzical look at the guard. "What's your deal??"

"what?"

"I don't think security guards should be acting like this, man."

"who're you to say. you're not a guard."

"I guess not? But I was under the impression—a fairly reasonable impression I think!—that security should be more reasonable to the people they've been hired to protect?"

"wha."

"What the fuck do you mean, 'wha??'"

"that sounds stupid. what's wrong with you. why would you say that."

"Well... fuck you!"

Gordon's yelling starts to attract the attention of the other scientists in line. They all turn their heads to look at him, confused looks on their faces.

"Shit!" Gordon hisses. "Sorry about that guys, everything's fine over here, I'll keep it down." Slowly, they all turn back around, seemingly satisfied by his reassurances.

"good. you calmed down."

"Wh—you're the one who riled me up in the first place!"

"huh? i don't know what you're talking about."

"Of course you don't."

Gordon rolls his eyes, huffing in frustration.

"What do you mean I 'stole your spot?' You shouldn't even be in line right now."

"i was waiting for my friend. he was gonna stand there."

"Can't he just stand behind me? Or in any of the other lines? No offense, but if your friend wanted to reserve a spot or whatever, he should have gotten here early."

"don't be rude."

"I'm not being—"

"you stole his spot. rude little shit."

"Hey!"

He expected to leave the irritating security guard behind as he slowly inched closer to the HEV suit room, but the guard just started following him.

"Dude. Aren't you supposed to be working right now?"

"i am working."

"Then why are you following me in here? I thought you were like, guarding the hall. You know, so people can't just take an HEV suit and run, or something like that"

"i do what i want."

"That's... not how it works? What?"

There was a long silence.

"dude."

"What???"

"you stole my spot."

"WHY DOES THAT—you're just trying to rile me up now, huh?"

"trying and succeeding. you big dumb baby. look at you, yelling over a spot in line. pretty immature of you huh? huh?"

Gordon can't help himself. He actually starts laughing.

"you little blubbering baby. grow up, man. grow up."

"I don't even—hhhhahaha!"

"what's so funny."

"I don't know?? Hahahahahaha!"

The guard looked on as Gordon slowly recovered, taking a few deep breaths before speaking.

"Maybe I'm just tired. Yeah, that's probably it. My sense of humor gets real fucked up when I haven't gotten any sleep."

"you haven't slept?"

"Yeah, man. I was nervous about today! This is my dream job, you know. I don't wanna mess anything up. Well, okay, I think I've already messed up big time. Fuck, how did I miss a whole day of work? I swear today was supposed to be the first day..." Gordon trailed off and stared into space for a moment, then shook his head to clear it. "Ah, whatever. I can't do anything about it now."

The guard stared unblinkingly at Gordon, not reacting to what he had said.

"Oh sorry, what was I talking about? Right, my nerves. Anyway, when I get nervous like that, I can never fall asleep."

"really?" Surprisingly, his question sounded genuinely curious rather than accusatory or mocking.

"Yeah. I mean, was pacing around for hours because I couldn't sit still! And what did that worrying get me? Fucking late." Gordon shrugged.

"yeah i get that. i was nervous on my first day too."

"Really?"

"what?"

"Don't try to pretend you didn't say that just now. I heard."

"you're so tired you're hallucinating now. dude i'm kinda worried about you."

"Hey, I'm not hallucinating just because I'm tired! Stop weaponizing my honesty against me!"

"no."

"NO? What, are you just gonna keep accusing me of made up crimes?"

"yeah, tough luck. chump."

Gordon laughed again, harder this time.

"God, I can't even stay mad at you. You're too funny! Fuck!"

"pay attention. it's your turn."

"I—huh?"

As Gordon looked up, quickly wiping a tear from his eye (how did that get there?), he realized that he was standing right in front of the HEV suit machine (how did _that_ get there?).

"Shit. That was fast."

"no it wasn't. you were just distracted."

"I guess I was."

Gordon stepped into the machine, and got suited up. A funky song played as he put it on, and he nodded his head to the beat. He could see the guard tapping his foot, too.

"Good song, huh?"

"no. this song sucks. i hate it."

"Nice try. I see you dancing along to it."

The guard abruptly stopped, hunching in on himself slightly. "what are you talking about?"

"Aw, no, don't feel bad about it or anything. I'm dancing too. See?" He jammed out for a few seconds, then stopped when he saw the other scientists in line giving him annoyed looks. "It's fine, dude."

"eh."

"Alright, whatever you say."

Gordon finished putting on the suit and left the room, heading for the elevator. The guard followed him, but slowed to a stop a few feet from the elevator.

"You have to stay up here, right?"

"..."

"I mean, you probably shouldn't come down. You know, radiation poisoning."

"uh. yeah."

"Also, you've been slacking off with me long enough. I don't want you to get in any more trouble than you're probably already in."

"okay."

The blinking numbers above the elevator displayed its slow ascent to the ground floor. As Gordon waited, he took a moment to consider the strange guard he'd just met. The man seemed hellbent on annoying the shit out of him, but his prodding and insults had actually cheered Gordon up considerably. After laughing and joking around with him, he felt truly relaxed for the first time in several days. And although he tried to hide it behind his prickly attitude, he seemed to care about Gordon's wellbeing, at least a little bit.

"Hey, dude?"

"what?"

"Thanks."

"you're welcome."

"...Do you even know what I'm thanking you for?"

"that's for me to know and you to find out."

"Haha, fair enough, uh... oh shit, I never even asked for your name!"

"that's confidential."

"No it's not. It's right there on your shirt."

"hey don't look at th—"

"Benrey, huh?"

"..."

The elevator opened, and Gordon got in. He turned around to wave goodbye to Benrey.

"Hey, I'll see you tomorrow?"

"dude."

"What?"

"yo dick out."

Gordon stuttered for a few moments, taken completely off guard. He actually glanced down surreptitiously before managing a high-pitched "No?????"

"i know."

And as the elevator doors slid shut, for the first time since Gordon had met him, Benrey smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> planning to make this a slowburn longfic... leave a comment if you liked this


	2. Chapter 2

"damn you're actually on time today. that's a surprise."

"Well, my alarm decided to go off today, so yeah, I'm here."

"yeah?"

"Yeah."

"no."

"No?"

"i think you're lying."

"The fuck? About what?"

"your alarm, stupid. i think you're lying about it."

"Goddammit, of course you do."

Gordon shook his head in exasperation, pulling a binder out of his locker. He opened it and flipped through the neatly labeled dividers, pulling out the papers he'd been asked to fill out for the day. Benrey had been waiting there when he'd arrived, seemingly for no reason other than to bother Gordon.

"i bet your alarm did go off yesterday and you just ignored it."

"Why on Earth would I do that?"

"because you're lazy."

"Did I mention that this is my dream job? Or are you just being difficult and ignoring that?"

"if this was really your dream job wouldn't you be on time?"

"I am on time! Today! Right now!"

"no you're not."

"Yes I am."

"no you're not."

"Yes, I am!"

"no you're not."

"YES, I—"

"you're wasting so much time right now, dude. look at your watch."

Gordon opened his mouth, and then closed it again. He slowly came to the realization that yes, he had been standing by his locker talking to Benrey for far too long. Slowly, he lifted his arm and glanced at his watch.

9:32. His shift had started two minutes ago.

"FUCK!"

"haha i told you so. dumbass."

"Get out of the way, I gotta go! Ah shit my boss is gonna be so pissed..."

"maybe if you cared about your job this wouldn't have happened. ever think about that?"

Gordon scrambled through the halls, cursing under his breath. Benrey followed close behind, letting loose an unceasing stream of insults.

"imagine being so stupid you forgot you were at work."

"Shit shit shit shit shit they're going to fire me at this rate!"

"late two days in a row? i think that's a record."

"How the fuck did I let this happen fuck fuck _fuuuuck_..."

"i guess you weren't late one day. the day you forgot to come in haha."

"Hurry up hurry up hurry the fuck up! Gordon SPRINT!"

With a triumphant yell, Gordon burst into the elevator room and slammed his fist on the up button. He doubled over, chest heaving with exertion.

"you okay there dude?"

"Yeah... I..." Gordon took a few seconds to catch his breath, then straightened up. "I'm doing fine, no thanks to you."

"what's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, you're the one who made me late by distracting me!"

"i don't think so."

"Oh yeah? You don't?"

"yeah that's right. stupidface."

"First of all, that is a very petty insult. How old are you, five?"

"none of your business."

"Second, how can you even say that?? Did you already forget what happened, like, two minutes ago?"

"..."

"Okay, then let me summarize it for you. I was standing peacefully at my locker, gathering my supplies for the day, when YOU walked up to me and—"

"hey what's that blinking light? that looks bad."

"I—ohhhhh shit."

The buttons on the elevator control panel were flashing red. Text scrolled across a little screen at the bottom of the panel, reading "ELEVATOR OUT OF ORDER. PLEASE USE THE STAIRS."

Gordon put his head in his hands.

"I'm fucking done for."

"better start filing for unemployment."

"I mean, come on! Of every possible day the elevator could be broken, it has to be the day I'm assigned to the bottom floor. Do you know how long it's gonna take to walk down there?"

"yeah i do. i work here."

"Fifty floors, Benrey. Fifty floors!"

"that sure sucks for you."

Gordon took a deep breath, then hissed it out through his teeth.

"Well. I guess I better start walking. Lemme just find the stairs..."

Gordon turned in a slow circle, scanning the walls around the elevators. There were no stairs.

"Huh. That's odd."

Gordon stepped outside the elevator room and glanced around. No stairs. With a mounting sense of horror, he tried every door in the hallway, getting more frantic with every boring office room or locked door.

"Where the FUCK are the stairs in this goddamn facility?? Aren't stairs usually near the elevators?" Gordon shot a pleading look at Benrey.

"i dunno man. i just work here."

"Have you never gone downstairs before? I know you're supposedly a security guard, but there's no way you've just never been down there."

"the elevators usually work. actually i don't think they've ever broken down before."

Benrey squinted at Gordon.

"that's a weird coincidence, huh?"

"What is?"

"the first time you try to use the elevator it breaks. that's kinda suspicious bro."

"Didn't you watch me get in the elevator yesterday? It worked just fine then."

"..."

Gordon smirked. "See? I'm right. You can't even argue with me because I'm right this time!

"..."

"Just goes to show how useful a good, logical argument can be, doesn't it, Benrey? Maybe you could even learn a lesson from this and try to say things that make fucking sense every now and then?"

"wait holy shit dude. are you one of those facts and logic guys? ewwwwww."

"I—What? Fuck no I'm not!"

"no you totally are. that's disgusting bro. what the fuck."

"That's not what I meant at all! There's a big goddamn difference between pretending to be logical to win an argument and spouting utter bullshit to wriggle your way out of taking responsibility for anything."

"whatever dude. i know your secret now."

"I swear to god, if you try to blackmail me with this, this 'secret' that isn't even true to begin with—"

"better watch your back around me. you never know when i could accidentally let something slip."

"Ugh, whatever." Gordon startled. "Hey! You distracted me again! How long have we even been talking??"

"dunno. i'm not the one who's late. why should i care?"

"Sheesh, I really gotta get a grip." Gordon straightened up, closing his eyes. "Okay. You can do this, Gordon. You will not be bested by stairs."

Gordon opened his eyes, a determined look on his face. "I'm going to find those stairs, run down them as fast as I fucking can, and get to work quickly enough to avoid getting fired!"

"even though it's 9:48 already."

"Even though it's—SHIT how is it 9:48?? Nevermind, don't answer that. I'm not making that mistake again."

Gordon briskly walked to the end of the hall, exiting into the main entrance hall of the facility. Benrey skulked behind him, muttering something under his breath but otherwise leaving Gordon alone.

There were a dozen winding passages leading out of the entrance hall, all nearly indistinguishable from each other. Gordon picked a random one to walk down, but it just led deeper and deeper into the building with no apparent end.

"This building is a goddamn maze to navigate, huh? There isn't even basic signage. Who designed this shit?"

"bet they were fired real quick."

"Imagine the boardroom meeting. Deadlines are approaching, everyone's running low on sleep, and this chucklefuck drops an absolutely batshit plan on everybody last minute."

"stupid idiot. couldn't even design a building right. hope their degree got revoked."

"I think they would deserve that!"

"Hey!" a voice called from behind Gordon and Benrey. Gordon froze up, then slowly turned around. A scientist peered out from behind a door, and he looked mad.

"Shit, uh, sir, I am so sorry for the disturbance. Also, for wandering the halls, what, thirty minutes after my shift started? Hahaha that is a LONG time huh!?" Gordon tried not to freak out and avoided eye contact with the scientist, who had walked up to them and crossed his arms.

"Don't say that! This building is perfectly up to code. It's OSHA approved!"

"I... what?"

"I heard what you were saying about the architect! Don't be rude."

"Oh." Gordon blinked a few times, caught off guard. "Uh, I'm sorry, I guess?"

"Thank you!" The man uncrossed his arms and smiled. "My name's Tommy!"

"Hey, uh, nice to meet you. I'm Doctor Freeman." Gordon offered his hand, which Tommy energetically shook.

"And my friend here's name is Benrey." Benrey, who had been staying oddly silent since Tommy showed up, offered a short "sup."

"Hello, Benrey!" Tommy smiled and waved at him, and Benrey gave him a quick nod.

"Hey Tommy, you work here, right?"

"Yeah, I work in Human Resources! It's right through that door." He points behind him, to the door he came out of."

"Oh sweet, I'm supposed to be working with that department today. Are you headed down?"

"Yeah, I am. Do you wanna come?"

"Yes. Yes, absolutely." Gordon grinned, proud of his own problem solving. "The elevators are out of order, so we'll have to use the stairs. Which I assume you know how to find?"

"Of course I know where the stairs are, Mister Freeman! Everyone who works here knows where the stairs are."

Gordon gave Benrey an annoyed glance. He shrugged.

Tommy gasped. "Oh no I forgot my hat! I'll be right back Mister Freeman, don't go anywhere! I'll be quicker than... than a hummingbird... fleeing from a hawk!" He turned and ran back into the room.

"Alright," Gordon said into the silence. "That was... weird, but at least I snagged myself a way to get to work? I guess?"

When Benrey didn't respond, Gordon looked over at him. His posture was always atrocious, but it seemed somehow stiffer than usual. He kept his eyes fixed on the ground, unblinking. Gordon couldn't discern the expression on his face, but it seemed unnatural.

"You okay there, dude?"

"uh, yeah."

"Really?"

"..."

Gordon frowned. He hadn't seen Benrey upset before, and it made something in his chest twinge.

"Is this about Tommy? Do you have a problem with him?"

"no of course not. tommy's cool."

"Okay. Then...?" Gordon let his voice trail off, hoping to prompt Benrey into elaborating.

"doesn't matter."

"Come on, man. Tell me."

"oh hey look at that. tommy's back. hi dude."

"I found my hat!" On Tommy's head was a red-and-yellow-striped pinwheel hat. He flicked the little propeller on the top and beamed at Gordon as it spun in a wobbly circle.

"That's your hat? Really?" Gordon snorted.

"We better get going, Mister Freeman! We don't want to miss the tests they're doing today."

"Oh fuck, you're right. Let's go." As Tommy set off into the halls, Gordon gave Benrey an apologetic look. "Sorry man, I really gotta bounce. We can talk about this later?"

"huh?"

"Nope, you're not getting away from the topic that easily." Gordon put a hand on Benrey's shoulder and gave him a stern look. "We WILL talk about this later, and that's final."

"...sure. whatever."

"Perfect. See you, dude!" Gordon gave Benrey a salute, then jogged to catch up with Tommy.

Benrey stood and watched as Gordon struck up another conversation with Tommy, who seemed eager to chat with him. After the two turned a corner, Benrey lifted a hand to touch his shoulder. It was still warm.

Then another scientist came around the corner, and Benrey walked off.


	3. Chapter 3

"Benrey! Good to see you, bright and early this morning."

Gordon clapped Benrey on the back, using his other arm to rifle through his locker.

"Did you hear that? Early."

"early."

"Early!"

With a smirk, Gordon showed Benrey his watch. It was 9:12.

"i have a watch yknow."

"Yeah, I know. Just wanted to make sure you noticed."

"i noticed. you’re early.”

“And do you know what that means?”

Gordon plopped down on one of the long benches scattered about the locker room. “Now we have time to talk.”

“that doesn’t make sense.”

“Yes, it does!”

“we have time to talk when you’re late too.”

“That’s not the same thing.”

“looks like the same thing to me.”

“It’s not the same thing, because when we talk BEFORE my work starts, I don’t put myself in danger of being fired!”

“whatever.”

Benrey hasn’t sat down yet. He just stands over Gordon, looking down at him as they banter.

“Are you gonna sit down?”

“why would i sit down?”

“Because—okay, you know what, if you wanna stand, that’s your problem. It’s already 9:15, so I don’t have much time for this.”

“much time for what?”

“What was up with you yesterday?”

“dude.”

“I’m serious!”

“why are you being so…”

“Being so what? Concerned about you? Are you actually complaining about me being worried about you?”

“why are you making such a big deal outta this."

"I literally just said it's because I'm concerned about you!"

"bro, calm down. you're making a big deal outta nothing."

"It wasn't..."

Gordon trailed off as he realized that it kind of had been nothing. What had Benrey even done, shut up for a few seconds? If anything, Gordon should be grateful for the reprieve! So why did it matter so much to him?

"I, uh..."

"see? you're being unreasonable."

"Hey, look at the time, Benrey! It's 9:22, I better get to work!"

"yeah you better."

"I'm going to work now!"

"uh huh."

Gordon is already walking out of the room, but he turns for a moment to give Benrey a snarky salute. In doing so, he walks backward into a scientist and falls on his ass.

"FUCK!"

"Gordon, we have an emergency on our hands!"

Standing over him was a stressed looking Dr. Coomer. Out of the corner of his eye, Gordon could see Benrey sidling over.

"An emergency? What happened?"

"A neighboring department planned a key experiment for a vital research project today. It is due to start in one hour, but half their team called in sick, and they are becoming rather desperate!"

"Goddammit. Is there anything I can do?"

"We need you, Gordon! With the skills afforded to you by your PhD in Theoretical Physics, you have the unique ability to..."

Listening intently as Dr. Coomer explained what he needed to do, Gordon lifted his hand in Benrey's general direction. After a few seconds, he waved it around a bit, hoping to catch Benrey's eye.

"Gordon, I appreciate the gusto, but your pathetic jazz hand will not help us in this situation!"

"dude what the fuck are you doing. were you even listening?"

"Of course I was listening! Now are you gonna help me up or what?"

"i dunno man maybe instead of being distracted you should have been listening to that guy. he's a scientist, you know."

"I said I WAS listening! And I'm a scientist, too!"

"what?"

"Ugh, just grab my hand and pull me up already!"

Benrey just looked at Gordon's hand, making no move to grab it.

"I'll help you up, Gordon!" Dr. Coomer enthusiastically pulled Gordon to his feet, clapping him on the back with a wink.

"Thank you! At least someome around here has common decency." Gordon directed the last two words at Benrey, who just chuckled.

"Let's get moving, Dr. Coomer. Benrey, I don't think you'll leave me alone even if I ask you to, so I may as well invite you along."

"cool bro."

Dr. Coomer continued to brief Gordon on his job and the context of the experiment as they hurried to a different wing of the building. Just like when Tommy had been around yesterday, Benrey kept his distance and kept quiet. Gordon started to feel worried about him again before remembering the embarrassment of his earlier conversation and quickly turning off that part of his brain.

"...so the seven of us that remain will be spread very thin. Our lack of manpower will be quite an inconvenience." Gordon nodded understandingly at Dr. Coomer with the confidence of a man who did not zone out almost everything he had just said.

"Well, if we need more manpower..." Gordon glanced back at Benrey, who raised his eyebrows, seeming to ask "seriously?" Gordon leveled him with an icy glare that he hoped Benrey would interpret as "YES."

"I'm sure Benrey could help out with some of the simpler tasks. It's not like he actually does his security job in the first place, what's one experiment?"

Dr. Coomer paused, considering. "Well, if he wants to help out, his participation would be most appreciated."

"How about it, dude?" Benrey was staring at the floor, thinking.

A few seconds passed.

"Benrey?"

"huh?"

"Are you gonna help?"

"help with what?"

"Don't even fucking try that. You heard what I said."

"what are you talking about?"

"Gordon, we're here!"

The trio had arrived at a large set of double doors, presumably leading to the site of the experiment. Dr. Coomer unlocked a door and held it open, staring at Gordon expectantly.

"Alright Benrey, if you're coming, this is your last chance."

"well duh i'm coming. someone's gotta watch you... gotta make sure you don't fuck it up."

"You know what? I'll take it. Feel free to make up whatever bullshit self-rationalization you need as long as you help out."

"sure dude."

Benrey walked in, and Dr. Coomer followed him, letting go of the door as he did. Gordon barely caught it before it closed, and struggled to push it back open.

"Why the fuck is this stupid thing so heavy?"

"Careful, Gordon! That door is soundproof, making it extra difficult to handle!"

"Well, you seemed to open it just fine," Gordon muttered, trying to shove himself through the little gap he'd managed to create.

"Gordon, I am very powerful!"

After wrestling his way through the door as Dr. Coomer watched on with a mischievous glee, Gordon introduced himself to the huddle of scientists in the center of the room. They seemed frustrated and demoralized, but were cheered up considerably by the promise of extra help. After a quick overview of the plans, the team split up and got to work, scattering into different corners of the room.

The man Gordon ended up working with was cooperative enough, although he didn't seem much for conversation. He kept bitterly muttering under his breath about being pulled from his station and how the other scientists always "disrespected his potions," whatever that meant. Gordon wasn't paying much attention to him, as he kept sneaking glances over at Dr. Coomer and Benrey. They had ended up working together, and although he would never admit it to Benrey (again), he was still concerned about how Benrey was handling the situation.

Surprisingly, Benrey wasn't the only uncomfortable one. Dr. Coomer seemed rather tense around Benrey himself. He tried to cover it up with a cheery smile and a few cryptic jokes, but whenever Benrey wasn't looking, Gordon could see a tinge of unease in his eyes. Did the two have history he didn't know about?

However, Gordon didn't have much time to watch over the two, because he still had to monitor and help conduct the experiment himself. He tried to pick up what exactly he was supposed to be doing from the actions of the scientists around him, since he hadn't listened to Dr. Coomer's explanation as closely as he should have. Luckily, he had plenty of experience in picking things up on the fly after a whole lifetime of not paying attention at unfortunate times, so he managed and the experiment went off without a hitch.

The scientists thanked Gordon profusely for his help, and he waved them off with a "no problem" and "anyone would have done the same." He went to meet up with Benrey and Dr. Coomer, who were, predictably, soaking up the praise like a pair of wet sponges.

"Thank you, thank you, this is too much, really! I AM an extraordinarily talented man, but even I can only take so much!"

"yeah i'm pretty epic i know. you guys should be grateful i was here."

Gordon rolled his eyes and grabbed them both by an arm, dragging them out of the room.

"Nothing to see here, we're leaving now! Ignore these two since they apparently never learned what modesty is!"

"Gordon, no! I haven't been showered with gifts yet!"

"yeah man wtf are you doing? party pooper."

"Why are all my friends like this?"

Once firmly out of the hearing range of the other scientists, Gordon finally released Dr. Coomer and Benrey. Benrey shook out his arm and gave Gordon an annoyed look (which pissed Gordon off because he KNEW he hadn't been holding on too hard), while Dr. Coomer let out an exaggerated gasp with his hand in front of his mouth.

"Are we... friends, Gordon?" Gordon could swear his eyes were actually sparkling.

"Well, uh... I've only talked to you twice, and I don't think I actually know a single thing about you? But sure, why not."

"Whoopee!" Dr. Coomer hollered. He grabbed Gordon and lifted him in the air, giving him a big bear hug. Gordon was forcibly reminded of the man's unnatural strength, wheezing as the air was squeezed right out of him.

"Dr. Coomer I'm very excited too but I can't — hoooo! — can't fucking breathe!"

"haha your stupid little weakass lungs can't handle it huh? is that right?"

"Fuck you!"

Eventually, Dr. Coomer let go of Gordon, dusting off his hands. Gordon wobbled around a bit, trying to regain his balance.

"That was a wonderful little excursion, Gordon, but I believe you must be going now!"

"Yeah, you're right. Hey speaking of which, can you write me up like, a note confirming that I've been busy with all this? I think my boss will understand, but she won't believe me if I tell her myself."

"Why wouldn't she believe you?" Dr. Coomer asked, tilting his head.

"I think she would assume it's an excuse? I've had something of a... tardiness problem lately."

"this dipshit's been late every fuckin day."

"I'm working on it!"

Dr. Coomer folded his hands in front of himself and beamed. "That sounds like a you problem, motherfucker!" Without pause, he turned heel and walked away.

Gordon facepalmed. "Why does he always feel the need to leave like that? What happened to saying 'goodbye' like a normal goddamn person?"

"normal people are boring."

"I... guess you aren't wrong."

With a long-suffering sigh, Gordon turned to make the long journey back to his likely pissed-off boss. Benrey, like the insufferable nagging parasite he was, followed.

"Man, do you ever just... do your job?"

"this is my job."

"Please tell me how this could possibly be your job."

"i'm keeping the place safe."

"How are you—"

"from idiots like you. bro we've been over this. get with the program."

Rather than bother with a response, Gordon just punched Benrey in the arm, huffing.

"bro are you laughing?"

"What? No, I'm not laughing! Why would I be laughing?"

Benrey just answered by elbowing his side. Gordon yelped in pain, then started yelling at him about how impossibly bony his elbow was. But despite the show of anger he put on, complete with waving arms and pointed insults, he couldn't completely hide the smile in his eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so this fic is probably not going to be finished... it's been a long long time since i started it and the endgame concept i had is no longer as appealing to me. i still wanna reread it and figure out if i can salvage it, though! but i'll do that after publishing the other two (much more manageable) hlvrai wips i'm cookin up ;)


End file.
